Where the Clouds Touch the Earth

An everyday occurrence in the Wild West of Ireland.

Photo: Henk de Lange

Clouds formations...

... in Ireland are frequently as extraordinary as the landscapes beneath them.

Photo: Henk de Lange

The Angry Sea

Always a force to be reckoned with... there are rocks under those waves!

Photo: Henk de Lange

Snowy Roads

It's easy to get snowed in in this part of the world. So you have to be careful how you drive...

Photo: Doutsje Nauta

Happy 2011!

Currane on the Shortest Day. Beautiful, snowy and very, very cold.

Photo: Doutsje Nauta

Happy Christmas!

The Christmas spirit as embodied by a colourful family of snowmen including a couple of kids and a lady in a bikini top. They were spotted outside the house next to the chemist's in Achill Sound.

Photo: Hank Kune

A Crock of Gold?

In this part of the world, torrential rain can change in an instant into bright sunshine. That's why Irish landscapes are littered with rainbows. Is there a crock of gold waiting at the rainbow's end? With the luck of the Irish, quite possibly!

Photo:Henk de Lange

An Extraordinary Experience

During his recent visit, Pirate guest Henk de Lange was about to climb Croaghaun Hill when he experienced something extraordinary."What looked like a pair of tramps were waiting for me as I set off from the car park. They were playing violin and flute in the apparent hope of encountering tourists. And I was the only one. I gave them €5 and they played for me until I disappeared from view. That was great. They also told me that I would find plane wreckage when I reached An Corrimore Lake at the top. Although I didn't actually find any, there were some markings."

Drawing: Henk de Lange. It was made on Croaghaun Hill above An Corrimore Lake and looking out towards Achill Head.

Croaghaun Hill...

... is like a fortress above the sea.

Photo: Henk de Lange

Perfect Beauty

Sunset at Clare Island and Achill Beg.

Photo: Henk De Lange

The Living Room Immortalised

This drawing of the living room in Polranny was made by the artist Henk de Lange, who was a recent guest. He descibes his stay as follows: "I used the slightly less than two weeks that I spent in Polranny for reflection and inspiration. It was the ideal base camp for exploring Achill Island and its surroundings, and for roaming around the hills, cliffs, beaches and ruins. Sometimes I didn't see a single person.
S P A C E and mysticism: it purifies the mind!"

Photo: Henk de Lange

Bog Oak

Thousands of years ago this used to be a mighty tree, now it's slowly fossilising on Fahy Beach, about thirty minutes drive from the house in Polranny.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Costa Mulranny

Sometimes the seaside village of Mulranny looks positively tropical... when it's not raining of course!

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

There's a Whole World Underwater

There's also a lot going on above. The boat is a currach and is first mentioned in writing around the time of Julius Caesar. Saint Brendan is reputed to have crossed the Atlantic in one in the 6th century, which would have definitely been an act of faith.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Badgers Were There...

According to people who know about these things, these are the signs of badgers attempting to dig up the front garden. For years there have badgers in the back garden, although nobody ever sees them. Personally I was beginning to think that they were mythical, much like the leprachauns.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Rabbits Were Here...

... lots of them. That's why these sandy dunes and accompanying bay are known in Pirate parlance as "Bunny Beach".

Photo Profoundly Superficial

Weird Beastie

Is this some rare and endangered Irish creature? No, its a red hot poker in the garden after a rain storm!
Photo: Profoundly Superficial

And the Winner Is...

Just make sure that you don't sail down wind of him...
Photo:

The Height of Fashion

Wellies by Barbour!
Manolos and Jimmy Choos should be left at home.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Puppy Love

Trudi - a Irish Setter/Border Collie cross - greets Buster Brown, her big love. Trudi lives with Pirate friends Al and Jane at nearby Corraun House.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Always Changing, Always Beautiful...

... the beach at nearby Mulranny.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Pirates to the Rescue!

While driving around the craggy coastline of Currane Peninsula, an eagle-eyed Pirate recently noticed a sheep in trouble. It had got its head well and truly stuck in a gate. What to do? The guards (police) don't normally respond to calls for stricken sheep. Fortunately other drivers stopped to help and eventually a neighbour turned up with a formidable pair of bolt cutters that soon did the trick! Although shaken, the sheep was fortunately none the worse for the experience.
Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Treasure Trove

Neolithic treasure discovered by Pirate Annie on the ancient coast of Clew Bay.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

The Day of the Auction

It's September 1944 and the house is about to be auctioned. It would pass through several other hands before ending up with the Polranny Pirates. Some the men in the photo are related to the Sweeney family, who had lived here up to now.

Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

The Family Car

And a magnificent beast it is too! Artfully posed in front of it are previous residents Peter and Margaret Sweeney while their daughter Gretta sits behind the wheel.
Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

Sewing Machine

I love this photograph of Margaret Sweeney, sitting outside with her sewing machine and the turkeys or geese behind her. Margaret was the mother of the Sweeney family who lived in the house in Polranny many years ago.
Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

The Drive Seventy Plus Years Ago

The house and the wall are unchanged but nowadays there's far more foliage around the drive.

The demurely smiling lady is Margaret Sweeney, the matriarch of the Sweeney family that used to live here.

Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell, Margaret's grandson.

Things Have Hardly Changed

The house in Polranny, the porch, the kitchen on the right, AND that all important car. This photo was taken sixty plus years ago when the Sweeney family lived here. But essentially not that much has changed... except the car is slightly more modern.

Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

Eileen (2)

Here is another image of previous resident Eileen Sweeney; this time shown as a proud graduate.

Photograph courtesy of Charles Tyrrell.

Eileen

A sweet photo of Eileen Sweeney, a member of the family who lived at the house for most of the first half of the 20th century.

If the house could speak, what tales it would tell...

Photo courtesy of Charles Tyrrell.

Palm Trees in Ireland?

No this is not Spain. It's County Sligo in August!

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Little Faces from the Past

Two more historic photos of Tonragee National School, which is still located just down the road from the house in Polranny. In fact next year the School will celebrate its centenary and there are plans for a book about the last hundred years. Doubtless many descendants of these kids still live in or around the village, while others will have been part of the "Scattering", the successive waves of Irish emigration to countries such as England and the United States. Hopefully they too will make their way back to Mayo in time for the festivities.

Photos courtesy of Charles Tyrrell.

Tonragee National School

This is Tonragee National School where Peter and Margaret Sweeney taught, the couple who lived with their daughters Patty and Gretta at the Pirates' house in the early 20th century. Peter is standing at the back on the far right-hand side. But Margaret's absent. Maybe one of her girls had just been born. In her place - and standing to the left - is their aunt Bridget Flynn.

Many thanks to Charles Tyrell, Patty's son, for the use of this photo. Click to enlarge. It's well worth it!

Patty's Parents

Here are Patty's parents, Peter and Margaret Sweeney, photographed in Westport in approximately 1906.The little girl isn't Patty, it's her big sister Gretta. Were they already living at the house in Polranny? Had they just started teaching at the National School in the neighbouring village of Tonragee? Whatever the truth, it must have been a busy and exciting time for them and their young family!
Photo courtesy of Charles Tyrrell, Patty's son

A House With History

The house in Polranny is more than a hundred years old, so many people have lived here before the Pirates and their friends. This is Patty Sweeney with an armful of kittens including a princely Siamese. She lived here with her parents, Peter and Margaret, who were teachers in Tonragee National School just down the road.

Many thanks to Patty's son Charles Tyrrell for the use of this photo.